One of the problems encountered by fishermen is what to do with a “rigged” fishing line when the rod to which it's attached is not being used. Many conventional fishing rods are equipped with a “hook keeper” located on the rod blank above the reel seat. Such “hook keepers” are typically semi-circular in shape and are attached to the rod blank on both ends. The hook is secured by slipping it through the opening in the “hook keeper.”
There are, however, several situations in which the conventional “hook keeper” fails to adequately secure the rigged fishing line. One of these is the so-called “drop-shot” rig, in which a drop-shot weight is secured to the line through a swivel below the hook. When the line is rigged in this manner, the insertion of the hook into a conventional “hook keeper” does not secure the drop-shot weight attached below the hook. In a moving boat, the unsecured drop-shot weight is apt to bounce around and get tangled with the rigs of other fishing rods.
It is therefore desirable to provide a new type of “keeper” designed to secure various configurations of rigged fishing line involving assorted combinations of hooks, swivels, weights, floats and lures. Optimally such a “keeper” would be open on one end, so that the rigged line could be slid under the open end. Such an “open-ended keeper” must be designed to maintain enough downward pressure on the rod blank by the keeper's open end to prevent the rigged line from slipping out again after it has been inserted. On the other hand, the downward pressure of the open keeper end on the rod blank must not be so great as to prevent the rigged line from being manually slid under the open end or to cause the line to be abraded during that procedure.
The present invention answers the aforesaid needs by providing an open-ended fishing rig keeper with a unique geometric configuration. The open-ended rig keeper is also designed to be quickly attached to the rod blank by the fisherman him/herself using silicone tape. Hence, the fisherman does not need to bring his/her rod to a shop to be retrofitted with an open-ended rig keeper.